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Not only is the old
adage about the famous French dish contrary to life onboard Andiamo, but,
as a matter of fact, real men help cook it—gladly.
Oh, and by the way,
I’m talking about guests here, not chefs or sous chefs.
Confused? Don’t
be—the idea behind how this 139-footer was conceived is actually
pretty simple. Built by Feadship’s Royal Van Lent shipyard, Andiamo
was literally and figuratively built around the concept of cooking with
friends and family, all the while taking in the world’s most celebrated
and even unusual anchorages.
It’s all thanks
to Nancy Mueller, a vivacious American who commissioned Andiamo
to embody her dual passions of good food and the cruising lifestyle. How
passionate, you ask? The entrepreneur behind a successful food business,
Mueller welcomed 35 people onboard for brunch on New Year’s Day in
Amsterdam, Holland—and the yacht wasn’t even finished yet.
No matter—once
they got a look at how the room is designed, they, like me, probably all
got a serious case of kitchen envy. “I had a blast with the galley!”
Mueller laughs, reflecting on how involved she was in its design. Reasoning
that many people like to hang out in the kitchen when they’re at
a house party, Mueller requested the galley be set up to permit large
groups to either observe or participate in the cooking—and if they’d
be observing, there would still be enough space for the yacht’s chef
to operate without interference.
That’s where the
large island comes into play. It effectively separates the stove, oven,
and gas-fed wok, all forward, from the prep areas aft. But the island
also serves another, more important purpose: stowage. When I was aboard,
Feadship’s marketing director, Hein Velema, pointed at the lowest
drawer facing the stove and said simply, “Watch this.” He then
proceeded to open the longest drawer I’ve ever seen—just when
I expected it to end, it kept rolling out. Easily three feet deep, it
contained at least a dozen pots of various sizes (a separate drawer contained
their lids), all neatly stacked and easily accessible. Velema then gave
the drawer a gentle push to demonstrate how effortless it was to close.
When I spoke with Mueller,
she explained that she had to have the design of this island set first
before the rest of the galley could fall into place. She bought the pots
she wanted, lined them up on a large piece of paper, drew their outlines,
and gave it to Feadship, saying, “‘Okay, now you can build the
island!’” As for why she wanted drawers instead of cabinets,
it was a matter of common sense: “I don’t like crawling around
digging for things,” she explains.
Just as Mueller had
precise ideas on how the galley should be designed, given her penchant
for entertaining, she wanted a variety of dining areas. Besides the galley
banquette and the traditional main-deck dining area forward of the saloon,
there are also three alfresco spots. The aft bridge deck has a barbeque
plus a table for eight, but if the sun proves too intense, the main aft
deck, with a hi-lo table that can extend to seat 14, can be enclosed with
screens or be air-conditioned. Personally, I’d opt for the area forward
of the hot tub on the sundeck, set up like an outdoor country kitchen.
A true second galley, complete with an Alto-Sham cooker/warmer, full cutlery
and dishes, and even a dishwasher—all contained in what at first
appears to be just a large wet bar, to starboard—eliminates the need
for a dumbwaiter connected to the main deck to serve the table for 12
that lies opposite.
Next page >
Part
2: “I’m not going
to build another boat, so I wanted this to be as perfect as possible.” > Page 1, 2,
3, 4, 5
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